Women are 80 percent more likely to suffer from autoimmune disorders than men, for reasons that scientists have yet to understand. They account for 80–95 percent of patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune thyroid disease, and systemic sclerosis; they make up 60 percent of arthritis and multiple sclerosis patients. In most cases, these gender disparities are acknowledged but never studied; doctors have long been prone to writing off the differences as hormonal without further inquiry. And when it comes to the patients
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